Forum

NEED HELP: Oddball configuration (12x5) for outdoor show

Posted by Geoff Coe on June 18, 2010 at 2:07pm
I've been accepted into the Bethany Beach (DE) Boardwalk Show on Sept. 11, and have been assigned a 12x5 space. 
I have a Trimline tent (standard 10x10).  Chris at Trimline gave some very creative suggestions, but all involve a lot of one-off jerry-rigged solutions (involving duct tape, shower rings, clamps, etc.) in addition to an option for buying a 6x10 canopy top for $295. 

Has anyone configured such a space for an outdoor show?  Can you give me some ideas on how to handle this? 

The booth fee is due June 30 so I have to make the call on my participation SOON.  I've left a call for the show organizer but won't hear back until early next week. 

THANKS!

Geoff

ps:  It's probably a topic for another category, but I don't get why outdoor shows offer non-standard sizes.  Either you have the room for a 10x10 space, or you don't.  If you don't, make the show smaller.  (My 2 cents) 

You need to be a member of Art Fair Insiders to add comments!

Join Art Fair Insiders

★
★
★
★
★
Votes: 0
Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Geoff Coe June 24, 2010 at 4:17pm
    Hi Amy/all,
    I've actually worked this out with the show organizer...waitlisted for the 10x10 space I wanted, with very high odds of getting it.

    Flourish (maker of my tent) suggested a number of things, the most workable being using only the female horizontal poles on the sides (this yielding a 5x10 tent), and then basically folding the canopy top over the dome). I was successful in persuading the organizer that that would look like hell. ;-)
  • Amy Schulz June 24, 2010 at 3:41pm
    Any odd sized space that I have been in was indoors. That is workable, though it sure takes a lot longer to set-up while fussing with how to do it. Do all artists in these odd spaces actually use a tent or have no cover?
  • Geoff Coe June 18, 2010 at 6:08pm
    Hi Dave,
    I'm a wildlife/avian photographer. I'm looking at doing the indoor "Wings n' Wildlife" show in Stone Harbor the previous week. It's a strange configuration too (4x8) and they say they don't supply anything but the space. So that's yet another customized, jerry-rigged setup I'd have to configure...or rent. I'll check out the NC showt, but since I have a place lined up to rent already in NJ I'd been hoping on staying near there. Appreciate the leads!
  • Dave Hinde June 18, 2010 at 4:36pm
    I do some inside shows that are weird sizes, and I'm looking for an inside booth frame that is adjustable. It sounds like Bethany may have a narrow boardwalk, or wherever the show is. It may be possible to cover your spot with a cheapo vinyl tarp some kind of patched together framework, and a lot of bungees. That might work if you weren't too concerned with rain.

    What type of photography? There's a Wildlife Art show, inside, in Currituck, N.C. the same weekend. It's a 2 days show and the inside spaces are 9 x 8. I think the fee is around $100. Sales are OK, but not great. They do good on publicity, but the big money in Currituck goes to the carvers.

    What are the other shows you are doing? I know Seawall in Portsmouth is a great show and it's the last weekend in August. I'll be there as a helper, but I'm not showing there.
  • Geoff Coe June 18, 2010 at 4:11pm
    Word!
    Thanks, Larry, that's what I'll do.
  • Larry Berman June 18, 2010 at 3:30pm
    My response would be that I'll be showing up but cannot take a non standard space so please put me first on the waiting list for a 10x10 (and ask what the odds of a space opening up are). Continue by saying that because of your medium (photography) and the size you sell your work at, there wouldn't be enough room in a 5x12 for you to set up properly.

    I was once offered a 5x10 space at Tempe off the waiting list and responded that I couldn't make a three day drive across the country to not fit into a space properly.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
  • Geoff Coe June 18, 2010 at 3:21pm
    Hi Larry: Thanks for the prompt reply! Yes, they were actually really straightforward about it in the application: I don't have it in front of me, but it says something like: "Preference for 10x10 spaces will be granted based on date of application." I learned about (and applied for) the show at the last minute.

    So this wasn't unexpected. But I emailed the organizer today and explained that I was driving from Florida to do shows on 3 consecutive weeks and was bringing my 10x10 tent...and it would be a severe hardship to purchase and bring a separate tent for their show. (I also mentioned that I was currently in Bethany Beach, having traveled there in advance to create photographs especially for the local clientele.) So hopefully that will sway her into putting me on a wait list for a 10x10 space, if not finding a way to make it work outright. Otherwise, I guess I'll just have to decline, and apply early next year!

    It's going to leave me with a gaping hole in my Northeast show schedule, but I'll deal with that bridge when I come to it.

    Thanks again!

    Larry Berman said:
    I've seen some shows offer non standard sizes based on the facility or space the show was being held in. Were the non standard sizes mentioned in the show application? Are all the spaces non standard? What happens if you show up with a 10x10 canopy and no way to change space size? Depending on the answers, I'd either show up expecting a 10x10 space or ask for a refund now.

    An example is the Michigan Guild only offering 6x10 spaces in State Street in Ann Arbor. The two years I did it on that street, I used modified frame parts for my Craft Hut and let the top drape down behind the booth. Most artists actually purchased 6x10 Craft Huts or built their own booths to fit because the show was worth it. Those spaces are now 10x12 because of how many artists stopped doing Ann Arbor.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
  • Larry Berman June 18, 2010 at 3:05pm
    I've seen some shows offer non standard sizes based on the facility or space the show was being held in. Were the non standard sizes mentioned in the show application? Are all the spaces non standard? What happens if you show up with a 10x10 canopy and no way to change space size? Depending on the answers, I'd either show up expecting a 10x10 space or ask for a refund now.

    An example is the Michigan Guild only offering 6x10 spaces in State Street in Ann Arbor. The two years I did it on that street, I used modified frame parts for my Craft Hut and let the top drape down behind the booth. Most artists actually purchased 6x10 Craft Huts or built their own booths to fit because the show was worth it. Those spaces are now 10x12 because of how many artists stopped doing Ann Arbor.

    Larry Berman
    Digital Jury Services
    http://BermanGraphics.com
    412-401-8100
This reply was deleted.